Dark Comedy About Apps and Venture Capitalism Lands at Tribeca Film Festival

The movie of our times is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival this week, with the first screening going down last Friday. App is – well, I’ve seen it described as a romantic comedy, a dark comedy, and a thriller, so take your pick. Whatever it is, it’s an exploration of how technology complicates good old face-to-face time.

The titular app is the ultimate dating app – and the sum of all fears when it comes to the tech industry. It pulls up all available information online about another person, and feeds conversation hints into the user’s ear. So, it’s the omega app of privacy invasion, and it automates human conversation. Woo! Paul is the app developer, and, in an instantly recognizable dilemma, he needs him some venture capital. Enter Mike, who has said capital. He wants some proof that the app works, so Paul sets about using it to pick up a stranger at a bar, and hijinks ensue. Darker hijinks ensue when the app, designed as a personal assistant in the key of Siri, goes Hal in the place.

Eventually, the app starts to come between boy and girl, and I’ll leave it to you to extract all relevant metaphors. App‘s next screening is tomorrow at 5:30 at Bow Tie Cinemas Chelsea 9, followed by other screenings on the 24th and 27th. After its Tribeca run, App will head westward to Los Angeles.